TweakTown News Posts - Page 1

Surprising absolutely no one, lootbox placeholders have been discovered in the new Modern Warfare beta test.

We all knew Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would be monetized. Activision makes billions ever year with the help of microtransactions (they made $7.5 billion in 2018, and $800 million from live services last quarter). Modern Warfare is the biggest game for Activison's brand this year, and they're banking hard on live services. And not surprising is the monetization avenue Activision will likely use: lootboxes.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake has a neat little throwback to the 1997 RPG, but it's still an action game at the end of the day.

Square Enix showed off a bunch of new Final Fantasy 7 Remake footage at the Tokyo Game Show 2019, confirming new additions like the Classic Mode. Websites are treating the mode like it transforms the game into a turn-based RPG...but that's not entirely right. It's more like auto-battle than the original game's ATB system.

Classic Mode basically switches controlled characters over to AI autopilot. It's only half like 1997's Final Fantasy 7 and only lets gamers use commands when the ATB gauge is full. But combat is still in real-time and the AI-controlled party leader will block, dodge, and slash with combo attacks to fill up the ATB gauge. Players can jump in at any time to do special moves, use items, or summon monsters once the ATB gauge is full, but the automatic control won't be interrupted until it's turned off.

Thanks to our friends at Universal Sony Home Entertainment, we have ten Blu-ray copies of the new release action smash 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum' to give away!

After gunning down a member of the High Table - the shadowy international assassin's guild - legendary hit man John Wick finds himself stripped of the organization's protective services. Now stuck with a $14 million bounty on his head, Wick must fight his way through the streets of New York as he becomes the target of the world's most ruthless killers.

To go into the running to win a prize, post this article to your social media profiles, send your postal address to ben at TweakTown dot com and correctly answer the following question before the competition closes on 21 September.

As seen in the 'John Wick' series, name the fictional hotel chain that functions as a neutral territory for members of the criminal underworld.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's summons have been adjusted to match the game's new real-time action-based combat, complete with a duration-based mechanic.

Square Enix showed off some big changes to Final Fantasy 7's summoning system at this year's Tokyo Game Show. The extensive gameplay demo reveals that summons are no longer one-off animations punctuated by a singular powerful move. Instead, summons now last for a set amount of time on the battlefield and attack alongside you in real-time, complete with destructive attacks. Once you summon a monster, a countdown timer bar starts ticking down. When it's empty the summon does their signature ultimate move and is dismissed--in Ifrit's case, he unleashes pure hellfire fury on foes.

The footage shows Cloud summoning Ifrit to take on the Aps boss in the sewers and highlights the new mechanic. Players can control what moves the summons dish out, but they can't actually switch over to them--instead summons are basically allies in combat. Attack executions are purely AI-based with move commands set by the player.

Sea of Thieves wasn't monetized at launch, but it sure is monetized now. Rare introduces the live game's cosmetic microtransaction storefront and lets gamers buy currency with real-world cash.

Rare is the sight when a first-party Microsoft game doesn't ship with microtransactions, but they'll always find a way in somehow. With the Pirate's Emporium storefront, Sea of Thieves is now monetized and peddles numerous cosmetic wares like ship skins, pet outfits, and emotes. The pricing is anything but micro though: there's a $10 emote pack, a $6 pet skin, and a $22 ship paint job. A single ship cosmetic costs more than The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion at launch.

The inclusion of cosmetics isn't surprise. Rare told players Sea of Thieves would eventually have microtransactions farther in the game's lifecycle. The devs took a while to figure out the best way to monetize the game while gathering feedback from players, but it seems like they're just doing the same thing as every other game today: dropping lootboxes and making a straightforward cosmetic store.

Sony teased it's gigantic bus-sized 16K TV earlier this year, and has now unleashed it to consumers -- uber-rich consumers, as it could cost millions of dollars.

LG has a cheaper 88-inch 8K OLED that 'only' costs $30,000 but if you really wanted to show off then you'll spend up to $5 million on Sony's gigantic, and superior 16K TV.

Sony is using Crystal LED technology that uses micro LED modules, each 16x8 inches at 360x360 resolution and 3 small LEDs per pixel. This allows for a very bright 1000 nits of brightness, 10 bit grayscale, superior color reproduction (140% of sRGB) and what Sony says is "spectacular" 3D.

Thanks to the modular tech, Sony can provide various sizes that span in 4 different sizes and resolutions:

Apple takes a move out of Epic's exclusivity playbook with its new $4.99 a month gaming subscription service.

Apple's making a splash into the game subscription market with Apple Arcade, a $4.99 service that packs access to 100+ games for iOS, Mac, and Apple TV. Despite our previous reports, all of the games on Apple Arcade aren't technically 100% exclusive to the service. Apple Arcade's exclusivity just extends to mobile platforms, so none of the games will show up on Android. Apple Arcade titles like Exit the Gungeon, a new Square Enix RPG, and Shantae and the Seven Sirens could still show up on consoles and PC.

This is a tactic Epic Games has taken with its anti-Steam marketplace. The controversial Epic Games Store makes lucrative deals with indie and big-name publishers like Ubisoft, THQ Nordic, and 2K Games, buying exclusivity rights and promising more long-term cash for one-year exclusivity. But what EGS exclusivity really means is "won't release on Steam for a year," the same way Apple Arcade is trying to take on the Google Play Store.

Lightning doesn't usually strike twice in the same spot...unless you own the Monster Hunter franchise. Monster Hunter World is already a titan in the industry, topping Capcom's sales charts as its best-selling game of all time. The online RPG provides tremendous engagement and revenues via cosmetic microtransactions and will last years to come. But now Capcom says the Iceborne expansion has shipped 2.5 million units, making for a total combined 15.6 million units sold-in to retailers.

The new Super Nintendo World theme park is gearing up for its 2020 launch in Universal Studios Japan, and its first phase will include two rides: a Mario Kart and Yoshi's Adventures ride. In a recent Merrill Lynch media event, Universal Parks and Resorts CEO Tom Williams confirmed the news and outlined some interesting tidbits.

Super Nintendo World has three separate levels and is fashioned like a Mario Bros. level. The park will have snap-on wristbands that make the entire area into an interactive game that's actually compatible with the Switch. You'll be able to keep score and track your progress, and maybe even play mini-games on the Switch itself. There will even be Nintendo-themed food.

"We're going to open up next spring. It's a whole new separate area of the park. It's got food. It's got merchandise. The first phase will have 2 rides, Super Mario Kart ride as well as Yoshi's Adventures. There will be 2 rides. The whole land is interactive, and you're going to have a wristband. It's got the big red Mario symbol on it. It's -- by the way, the wristband is super cool. It's all magnetic," Williams said.

Ready to relive those classic DBZ glory days? Bandai Namco's new Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot game transforms the entire series arc into an interactive gaming experience.

DBZ: Kakarot's January 2020 release was confirmed at this year's Tokyo Game Show 2019, complete with the addition of the Buu saga. As it stands, the action-RPG includes every Dragon Ball Z storyline including the Saiyan, Frieza, Android, Cell, and finally Majin Buu sagas, complete with the goofy spin-offs like the Ginyu Force. We could see more playable characters and scenarios added in as post-launch DLC (Bandai loves season passes as of late).

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is described as the ultimate re-telling of Goku's epic journey across impossible hardships, and stays 100% authentic to the legendary anime. It's not like DB FighterZ, but more like an expanded Xenoverse that follows the original arcs. Every area will have open-ended setpieces for the massive confrontations, from the destruction of Namek to the widespread desolation from Majin Buu's multiple form battles.